Public and private expenditures for agricultural conservation in general and for soil erosion control in particular are developed from agency reports, other secondary materials, and farm-level interview surveys. The object was to provide baseline information for 1983 needed for an ERS benefit-cost study of erosion control. In 1983, the national cost of erosion control in the United States totaled about $1 billion. This was 43 percent of the $2.4 billion spent for all natural resource conservation efforts in agriculture. About 50 percent ($493 million) of the total costs of erosion control in 1983 was incurred by farm and ranch owners and operators, about 9 percent ($92 million) by State and local governments, and 42 percent ($423 million) by USDA agencies via congressional appropriations.